Starting a Home Business

Having your own business is a big undertaking. It is a broad subject matter that can include hundreds of different businesses even just within the specific context of working from home!

Day cares, product representatives, designers, contractors, educators, stylists, hair salon owners, music teachers, illustrators, writers, and even dog walkers are all potential businesses that could be run out the home. And that is just to name a few! Some businesses made their start at home while others were created out of a necessity to be home. Some are full time and others are part time. In this section we discuss some of the more popular businesses that are common for people who work from home.

Narrowing the Focus

In the world of at-home business, there are lawyers who run their practices from home. There are veterinarians and consultants who do the same. While these businesses could still be included under the description: businesses run from home, in this section we will be focusing on those that are smaller-scale. The businesses in this section represent work employed by stay at home parents for example, and are businesses likely to earn supplemental incomes rather than full time salaries. The subject matter of having your own business and even running that business from home might seem specific but it can include a lot of businesses. For the sake of being most helpful to the people reading this section we will focus on smaller-scale and side-project businesses.

Turning a Skill Into a Success

While we are avoiding specialized businesses that require years of training to achieve, the idea of turning a skill into an at-home business is an excellent way to combine your desire to work from home with your interests and skills.

For example, a stay at home parent enjoys spending time with their kids and has chosen against a full time career in order to be home with their family. Many stay at home parents turn the time they spend with their kids into small businesses by starting day cares. This example illustrates how time already spent with children can garner supplemental income by watching and providing for the children of other families. Childcare is a very lucrative business and many parents who have traditional work schedules are often times more comfortable in leaving their children with a parent they know, over a program.

Another example is in party planning. If you are a person who loves planning and organizing events taking time when you are already at home to help others plan weekend parties, functions and events is a great way to turn your skill or interest into a business you enjoy. Perhaps you have what it takes to become a photographer, a career with many freelance opportunities: weddings, events, stock photography, and more. You are able to facilitate your need to be at home while earning supplemental income from your business, all the while doing something you love!

The example of Cheri in our interview section is another excellent example. Her skills in sewing and alterations lead her into small business she was able to run from home during the time she had in the day to dedicate to the project. While her example is especially relevant in highlight how beginning a business isn?t always easy, it was also a good example in how to manage your time so you can run your business successfully, while also enjoying it.

    Kathy Howard, a Portland OR native, began her business because she was home with the kids and their pets. Each day when the kids came home from school, Kathy and her girls would take their family dogs to the dog park. After offering to stop by the neighbor?s house and bring their dogs along as well, Kathy started getting requests to bring other neighborhood dogs with her. Her girls are now in college and Kathy runs a small pet care business focusing on dog exercise, health and activity. What began as a family routine, turned into a business Kathy loves and enjoys. Oh, and she also earns a pretty nice paycheck!

Learn more about pet sitting jobs in another section of JobMonkey. These examples are just a small look at how working from home can be so multi-faceted. It doesn’t have to be traditional work, it doesn’t have to be full-time work and it doesn’t have to be work that earns you a lot of money. Many people work from home to fulfill themselves in the work that they are doing. This section is simply here to outline how many different venues exist in working from home and running a small business from home.

Sign up for our newsletter!